Semiabrasive fabric



May 14,- 1935. D. J. MAYl-:R

SEMIABRASIVE FABRIC Fiied April 5, 1933 INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented May 14, 1935 attrici Trice SEMIABRASIVE FABRIC Daniel J. Mayer, Belleville, N. J., assignor to Metal Textile Corporation, West Orange, N. J., a corporation of Delaware Application April 3, 1933, Serial No. 664,073

1 Claim.

This invention relates, generally, to fabrics employed for cleansing purposes; and the invention has reference, more particularly, to a novel semi-abrasive fabric especially suitable for 5 use in fabricating dishcloths and the like and in -making some types of pan scrubs, pot cleaners, mits and similar articles.

Heretofore, it has been common to make dishcloths and the like out of fabricsof woven or knitted libre threads. `While dishcloths and the like made from such fabrics have good absorptive qualities adapting the same for use with soap powders and other detergents, yet, owing to the softness of such cloth material, the same cannot be used satisfactorily for removing tightly 4adhering dirt, grease and other foreign matter.

In the Kingman patent, #1,501,784, there is disclosed an abrasive fabric comprising a suitable iibre base thread knitted to form a tubular body,

the said base thread being gimped with a thin ribbon-like wire providing a multiplicity of sharp scraping `edges extending in all directions and tending, when the fabric is in use, to produce upon the surface over which the fabric is rubbed,

a strong 'abrasive action. 'I'his fabric while suitable for many uses, particularly, where a strong abrasive action is desired, is not so suitable where but a mildly abrasive action is desired as in the case of dishcloths and the like.

'I'he principal object of the present invention is to providel a semi-abrasive or mildly abrasive g fabric. suitable for use in fabricating dishcloths and the like as well as other cleaners, the said fabric having good absorptive qualities *enabling the same to be used to advantage with soap powkders and other detergents.

Another object of the present invention lies in the provision of a novel semi-abrasive fabric of the above character comprising a composite structure consisting of alternate fibre and ribbonlike Wire strands or threads, the fibre and wire strands being knitted together to form either a tubular knit or a flat knit fabric structure.

4 Still another object of the present invention is to provide a novel semi-abrasive fabric of the above character wherein the bre strands cause the fabric to have a yielding character in use and also serve to somewhat overlie and suitably 50 cushion or check the abrasive-action of the metallic ribbon-like wire strands, thereby preventing the latter from contacting too rigorously with the surface being cleansed.

` Other objects of this invention, not at this 55 time more particularly enumerated, will be clear- (cl. fis-202) ly understood from the following detailed description of the same.

The invention is clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 isa diagrammatic plan view of the semi- -5 abrasive fabric of the present invention. Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a portion of the structure of Fig..1; and

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 3-3 of Fig. 2 looking in the direction of the lo arrows.

Similar characters'of referenceV are employed in, all of the above described views to indicatecorresponding parts. p In producing the novel semi-abrasive fabric `i5 shown in the drawing, a libre strand and a. ribbon-like wire strand `are supplied alternately to the needles of a knitting machine to thereby produce fibre rows of loops `Il alternating with metallic ribbon rows of loops l2, the fibre loo'ps of a 20 i row Il being interlinked with the metallic ribbon loops of the preceding and succeeding rows of loops l2. Cotton yarn is preferably employed as the fibre strandor thread in forming the fabric since cot- 25 ton has desirable physical .properties including great strength, durability, high absorptive qualities and softness. It is to be understood, however, that strands of other suitable materials may be used,such as yarn,jute or other vegetable fibres. 30 Preferably, the ribbon-like wire strands are of copper, since copper is chemically stable and has the desirable physical qualities including toughness, strength and suflicient hardness to provide the necessary abrasive action for effecting the 35 removal 'of adhering dirt, grease and other foreign matter. With the ribbon-like wire knitted into the rows of loops I2, the relatively thin edges of such ribbon-like wire extend in all directions due to the multiplicity of` bends provided by the 40 loops, thereby providing a highly eflicient abrasive medium. l

The composite fabric thus formed by the alternate rows of metalribbon and libre strands, possesses a high degree of flexibility and softness, since substantially half of its body is formed of the fibre or cotton strands, the said fibre strands also enabling the fabric to be easily compressed or formed into any desired shape. Thus, the same is adapted to be readily made into pan scrubs, pot cleaners, mits and similar articles. The fabric, Whether tubular or plain, when cut up into pieces of suitable size, is highly desirable for dishcloths. The more or less harsh abrasive action of the alternate rows of copper ribbon loops is cushioned or modified by the presence of the cotton loops, thereby preventing such copper ribbon loops from unduly marking or scraping surfaces of soft material.

When the-fabric is pressed against a surface to be cleaned in use and rubbed upon the surface, the rows of loops I2 of thin ribbon-like Wire embed themselves somewhat in the rows Il of cotton loops so that the sharp abrading edges of the metallic ribbon loops are not forced into harsh contact with the surface, and consequently'do not tend to scratch or mar such surface. Thus, in use, the rows of cotton loops which constitute substantially half of the fabric, serve three essential functions:

First. These alternate rows of cotton loops render the fabric very flexible and pliable so that the same may be easily formed into any desired shape and enables the same to readily conform to the surfaces to which it may be applied for cleansing and scouring effects.

Secondly. These cotton or fibre loops cushion the action of the metallic ribbon loops and precludes the forcing of the metallic ribbon into too rigorous a contact with the surface being cleaned. Thirdly. The lrows of cotton loops, owing to their porosity, readily absorb soap powder solutions and other detergents, which solutions and detergents are readily deposited upon the surface being cleansed during the cleansing operation.

The rows of metallic ribbon loops serve the function of exerting a mild or semi-abrasive action for effecting the removal of adhering grease, dirt and other foreign matter from the surface being cleansed. Although copper ribbon is preferred for use in forming the rows of loops I 2, yet it is to be understood that other metals or alloy ribbons may be used, for example, steel, brass, aluminum, etc., may be used for this purpose. The nbre or cotton rows or loops also have a desirable polishing action in use, the same serving to polish the surface which is simultaneously cleansed by the abrasive action of the metallic ribbon loops and by the detergent solution held in the interstices of the cotton strands.

Owing to the many directions in which the various curved portions of the fibre and metallic ribbon loops extend, these loops exert their cleansing and polishing action regardless of the direction in which the fabric ismoved over the surface being cleaned. Furthermore, owing to the substantially flat character of the knitted composite fabric, the cleansing, polishing and semiabrasive surface produced by the curved edges of the bre and metallic ribbon' loops, is comparatively even and true, so that a greater multiplicity of such projecting curved edges, for a given area, are pressed against the surface over which the fabric is rubbed, than is the case with woven fabrics. r

Another advantage of the knitted fabric is that the even formation of intermeshed loops tends to produce a fabric which is easily retained in its shape and yet is open enough so that the same may be readily cleansed from grease, dirt and etc., which may accumulate therein when the fabric is employed in scouring operations.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, as dened by the following claim, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is: y A semi-abrasive fabric comprising a composite body made of alternate vegetable fibre and metallic ribbon-like rows of intermeshed strands, the alternate rows of vegetable fibre strands serving to render said fabric yieldable readily absorbent and flexible while also cushioning the abrasive action of the sharp abrasive edges of said metallic ribbon-like strands, whereby the scouring action of said metallic strands is rendered mild and non-injurious.

DANIEL J. MAYER. 

